VIKING II-EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH VEHICLE

An experimental light weight economy vehicle was designed and built by Western Washington State College. The car was designed as a two passenger, mid-engine, rear drive sports type vehicle. The body design and chassis layout were developed through wind tunnel testing to minimize drag. This resulted in an unique shape and extreme crabtrack layout. The body was constructed of fiberglass reinforced fire retardant polyester resin with urethane bumpers. The chassis was a combination of an epoxy faced aluminum honeycomb monocoque front section and a space tube frame rear section. The vehicle, which was powered by a four cylinder, four cycle Subaru converted to propane, had independent suspension front and rear. The vehicle attained 58.18 MPG (24.5 Km/L) on the 1975 S.E.E.D. Rally.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Sponsored by the Washington State Legislative Transportation Committee. Proceedings of the Automotive Engineering Congress and Exposition, 23-27 Feb. 1976, Detroit Michigan.
• Corporate Authors:

  Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

  400 Commonwealth Drive
  Warrendale, PA  United States  15096
• Authors:
  • Burwell, J L
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References;
• Pagination: 12 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles by type; Chassis; Fiberglass; Polyester resins; Propane; Safety vehicles; Vehicle design; Vehicle power plants; Vehicle rear end; Wind tunnels
• Uncontrolled Terms: Vehicle make
• Old TRIS Terms: Propane fuel; Rear engined vehicles
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00131848
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Highway Safety Research Institute
• Report/Paper Numbers: SAE #760060
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 4 1976 12:00AM